Welcome to SECUSS-L, a free electronic
forum for Education Abroad professionals! We're happy to have you join us. This
web-based version of the SECUSS-L Welcome Letter is meant to supplement the
guidelines received by all new subscribers. The SECUSS-L
guidelines were originally approved in 1996 and have been updated yearly
since. Furthermore the SECUSS-L management
has created an updated set of SECUSS-L Appropriate Use Guidelines
for members which you can access through this web site.
Membership in or affiliation with any given professional organization has never
been a requirement for membership in this listserv. Members however have
always been expected to the list serv guidelines for appropriate use and to
maintain the highest level of standards, professional courtesy and ethics
throughout their discourse and postings to SECUSS-L. List subscribers are expected
to read the guidelines message before using SECUSS-L -- and to keep a copy of it
or bookmark this page for future reference. Thanks and welcome aboard!

COMMERCIAL USE OF
SECUSS-L:
Note that SECUSS-L is hosted as a professional service by the University of
Buffalo, public university. Recall that SECUSS-L policy is that no overtly
commercial activity should be posted to SECUSS-L. What constitutes
advertising or commercial activity on SECUSS-L is determined by the List
managers according to guidelines announced on December 13, 2010. see link below

DISCLAIMER: SECUSS-L
is an independent list managed by volunteers -- not affiliated or sponsored by a
specific organization and established for the sole purpose of sharing
information on subjects related to education abroad. Members are not subject to
the paying of dues, etc. however as part of the subscription to the list
subscribers agree to a common set of rules of etiquette and appropriate use.
The co-managers thank the University of South Alabama, the Alabama Council for
International Programs and the University of Buffalo for providing access to the
list-server functions and home page web hosting locations as a service to the
field of international education. 2/07/2008. Problems with this site
should be addressed to: secussl@yahoo.com
or ellijam@gmail.com

To get or reset your account password for SECUSS-L
please look at this page of the listserv's site:
https://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?GETPW1=LMGT1 As
the registration paragraph indicates "If you already had a LISTSERV
password but cannot remember what it was, this procedure will
automatically replace your existing password with the new one you will
be entering below."

Recent postings over the past six months have increasingly raised
concerns about how SECUSS-L is being used by some subscribers as a
vehicle for
overtly commercial purposes. Please recall that SECUSS-L policy is
that no advertising or commercial activity should be posted to
SECUSS-L.
What constitutes advertising or commercial activity on SECUSS-L is
determined by the List managers according to:

1) The number and nature (content) of postings from any given
subscriber.

2) The use of strategies such as summaries, newsletters, articles,
blogs, tweets, etc.. that are primarily inducements to attract
individuals to what is
an advertising supported or commercial business activity.

What should you, the subscriber, keep in mind:

SECUSS-L uses topics: DISC: (Discussions:) postings with questions
and discussion about YYYY and PROG: (Programs:) brief announcements
- a public statement or a communication (in this case written)
setting forth particulars or facts, etc. on the specific subject or
topic in this case based on the above SECUSS-L guideline about
program activity related to study abroad (programs, conferences,
etc.).

Finally as SECUSS-L is hosted by a public university (we have one
of the largest listservs at this site), we need to carefully adhere
to the non-commercial purposes of our list and keep an eye on the
system resource use. Increasingly interactive "blog/twitter" style
repeated posts and similar resource intensive approaches as well as
more commercial systematic announcement mechanisms clearly change
the nature of the list and the resource utilization.

Our concern also goes deeper in that increasingly filters and other
mechanisms used by subscriber ISP's are generating rejection error
messages associated with some SECUSS-L postings and which we are
attempting to understand better. Thus our cautionary note to you
and to subscribers in general which we hope tobe making in the next
few weeks as we work through the challenges of this new internet
world.

We therefore ask for each subscriber to carefully consider the above
when posting. We do not currently screen or review every posting;
as
postings come to our attention we will advise you of our concerns if
there are any.

This service is a forum for study abroad professionals with open
subscription to all interested parties. This listserv service is a
volunteer activity not formally/officially affiliated with any other professional
organization however as a core principle the management of this listserv adheres to the
codes of professional standards and ethics of NAFSA and of other
professional organizations supporting the US
education abroad community.

>>>> DISCLAIMER - First please read the following carefully:

By subscribing to SECUSS-L each member agrees to abide by the SECUSS-L
guidelines and appropriate use policies. By posting messages to SECUSS-L
the authors of said postings acknowledge that they are solely
and legally responsible for any views expressed or information that they
post on this public network. Replies to the list are not allowed and
such should be sent directly to those posting the message or topic of
interest.

SECUSS-L is an independent list managed by volunteers -- not affiliated
or sponsored by a specific organization and established for the sole
purpose of sharing information on subjects related to education abroad.
Members are not subject to the paying of dues, etc. however as part of
the subscription to the list subscribers agree to a common set of rules
of etiquette and appropriate use.

The SECUSS-L management team reserves the right to manage the list based
on SECUSS-L guidelines including the placing of subscribers into review
mode, the list into moderated mode or apply other remedies as deemed
appropriate without prior notice.

**********************************************************

Furthermore members recognize that list
guidelines strictly prohibit use of this forum for anything other than
professional discourse (Topic: DISCUSSION or DISC) and program
announcements (Topic: PROGRAMS or PROG). Discourse for the purpose
of SECUSS-L is defined briefly as, for example, discussion of
professional development opportunities, asking questions, asking about
other people’s programs (“Are there any summer programs in France?”),
discussing international education policy, how study abroad offices are
structured and funded, professional practice methods.

In
addition to the standards noted specifically in the SECUSS-L guidelines,
we note that professional standards of ethical conduct across a wide
variety work environments, including electronic forums, also prohibits
personal commentary in response to individual messages or opinions, as
well as discussions of specific application of professional standards to
an individual case in a public forum. Members of SECUSS-L should
apprise themselves of the NAFSA:AIE code of professional ethics and
those of any professional organizations accrediting or associated with
their organizations.

In the case of repeated or egregious use of the list for
reasons other than those cited in the guidelines, SECUSS-L list managers
are empowered both to issue warnings
privately to individuals who transgress the guidelines, and to impose a
suspension as well as revocation of posting privileges as
needed. List managers, who are unpaid volunteers, do and will
make every effort to enforce these guidelines according to commonly
accepted
standards of professional practice (NAFSA) and after due review by the
SECUSS-L management team..

Questions and suggestions about
appropriate use guidelines, the revision, development or implementation
of list guidelines may be directed to the listserv management team,
through SECUSS-L-request@listserv.buffalo.edu

AGAIN please note that SECUSS-l is a volunteer
supported electronic
discussion forum that does not reporting to any specific organization.
Responsibility for information, views, comments and other information
posted on this listserv are the sole responsibility of the subscriber
posting said information to the listserv.

A Brief History of
SECUSS-L

SECUSS-L is managed by a volunteer team that as
of 5/29/2006 is composed of: Jim Ellis, Arthur Neisberg
(alphabetical order) and two other colleagues who serve in an advisory capacity.

If you have questions about SECUSS-L
that are not covered below, you may contact the list managers by sending a
message to:

SECUSS-L began around 1991 and was formally founded as an open public
service listserv in 1993 by members of the
Section on U.S. Students Abroad (SECUSSA), a professional interest section of
NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

SECUSS-L was originally and
continues to be intended for campus and overseas advisors, program
administrators, and other international educators involved in study and work
abroad programming which originates on U.S. college and university campuses or
is done in conjunction with overseas educational institutions. It provides
an efficient and open means for study abroad professionals to share knowledge, information, and
perspectives with each other, as well as with other professionals in the
field. Membership in or affiliation with any given professional organization has
never been a requirement for membership in this listserv. Members however
have always been expected to maintain the highest level of standards,
professional courtesy and ethics throughout their discourse and postings to
SECUSS-L.

SECUSS-L is the only national
electronic discussion list dedicated solely to the discussion of education
(study, work, internships, etc.) abroad and related issues. SECUSS-L also
offers various TOPICS sub-lists for receiving or posting study and work abroad
program announcements. Subscribers may choose to sign-up to receive these
sub-lists, or not.

SECUSS-L is not formally "owned"
by NAFSA nor was it owned formally by SECUSSA. In March of 2005 NAFSA
began a major restructuring which resulted in many organizational changes
including the absorption of SECUSSA into what is today (01/2006) known as the
NAFSA Knowledge Community for Education Abroad. SECUSS-L however not
being a formal structure of NAFSA has elected to continue under its original
structure and mission.

There is no charge nor
professional organization membership requirement for being a subscriber to SECUSS-L.
Members of SECUSS-L may or may not be affiliated with NAFSA or any other
professional organization.Although many SECUSS-L participants are
members of NAFSA and other organizations in the field of
international educational exchange (e.g., EAIE , BUTEX, etc.) and although the services, products and policies
of such organizations are often discussed by subscribers, SECUSS-L is not
affiliated with, overseen or managed by any organization. List management is
overseen by volunteers, and policies are determined by a committee of interested
international educators with experience in technology and education abroad
issues. Listserv software, server space and technical support are generously
provided by the State University of New York's SUNY-Buffalo
campus in Buffalo, NY.

SECUSS-L policy and Guidelines for
appropriate use were originally set by the then SECUSSA National Team.
Today SECUSS-L is managed by five volunteers from the field of international
education (Art Neisberg, Rosalind Raby, Soren Peterson, Melissa Polasik
and Jim Ellis. Please read and follow these guidelines when utilizing
SECUSS-L. It is recommended that you keep a copy of the guidelines and
refer to it as needed. All remaining questions concerning appropriate
network use should be directed to one of the List Managers.

In 1996 the SECUSSA national team
approved a comprehensive set of SECUSS-L Guidelines which continue to serve as the foundation
for the management of the list today. The original uses for SECUSS-L which continue to be followed
today include:

Raising and discussing various
broad, national issues and problems concerning education abroad,
internationalizing the campus, gaining cross-cultural competence, etc.; to
function as an open forum.

Providing notices of all local,
regional, and national meetings and conferences of interest to study abroad
advisors and program administrators. This includes NAFSA, CIEE, AACRAO,
SIETAR, NSEE, EAIE, AIEA, etc. Postings should include dates, places,
themes, fees, etc.. If possible, program descriptions, keynote topics,
etc. should be given, as well as assessments and summaries.

Carrying out brief surveys of
facts, trends, opinions, perspectives, where a national or international
sample is wanted.

Functioning as an essential
link to the NAFSA/SECUSSA Emergency Communications Network, in times of global
crises; to provide hard information from overseas and across the country on
what the situation really is; to replace rumors with facts.

Assisting study abroad advisors
by serving as a place for them to ask questions and receive counsel and
perspective from more experienced and/or informed colleagues--about programs,
countries, support services, financial aid, etc.--when the resources at hand
are inadequate.

Reviewing and updating what we
know about the educational systems in countries where American undergraduates
wish to study, as changes affect education abroad
opportunities.

Linking study abroad advisors
and program administrators more openly and quickly with overseas
colleagues--in all the above.

SECUSS-L is but one resource for Education Abroad professionals. NAFSA
members may also want to post and subscribe to the "SECUSSA" and "OSEAS" topics
of the INTER-L
listserv. For information on other listservs that apply to the field
of international education, consult the
bibliography of Internet Resources. A listing of
listservs for areas of student affairs and higher education administration can
be found at
StudentAffairs.com and a general list
of listservs can be found at Google email
list directory.
Another good resource for overseas information is the NAFSA Overseas Educational
Advisors network known as OSEAS. Finally many of the NAFSA affiliated regions have their own both regional and
state level associations with listservs, home pages on the web, etc. For
more information go to the NAFSA web site and select
www.nafsa.org.